Swedish home furnishings giant Ikea has filed an out-of-court settlement in a Proposition 65 complaint with law firm The Chanler Group.
The Chanler Group is a professional Prop 65 litigant. Its complaint with Ikea covers changing pads. The settlement was listed on the California Attorney General's website. The initial Prop 65 complaint with Ikea was filed in January.
To settle all claims, Ikea agreed to pay $60,000 in civil penalties. Of that, 75% goes to California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and a remaining 25% to Laurence Vinocur - Chanler's professional plaintiff filing complaints. The settlement also lists payment $39,000 in legal fees.
Prop 65 is a state law requiring point-of-sale notification by manufacturers to consumers of chemicals known to the state to cause cancer, birth defects or reproductive harm.
The law doesn't require elimination of the chemical, but allows citizen plaintiffs to cite companies for lack of proper notice for listed chemicals.
One listed chemical is TDCPP, which is used in foam to help meet California's TB 117 upholstery flammability standard - a still-active standard the state is in the process of revising. TDCPP was cited in the Ikea complaint.
Among more than 200 complaints, four TDCPP Prop 65 violation settlements have been listed by the California Attorney General's Office this year. With this month's filing, Ikea becomes one of the largest furniture suppliers to settle.
The effective date of the settlement agreement is Sept. 30 and Ikea it admits no wrongdoing. Through the settlement, Ikea agrees by March 31 only to manufacture, import, ship, sell and distribute for sale in California products that contain no more than 0.0025% by weight of TDCPP or TCEP in foam or filling materials.
Certain civil penalties can be waived if Ikea meets reformulation requirements of the settlement agreement early.
